March 09, 2012

Cuba political prisoner Ernesto Borges ends hunger strike

Borges' father said his son ended his protest because Ortega promised to negotiate with the dictator Raul Castro a settlement of Borges' case -- perhaps to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba later this month.

Borges, a former Cuban counter-intelligence officer and political prisoner for 14 years, had been demanding his release.

"We are very happy that Ernesto has left an extremely difficult situation, which came with a serious danger of death," said Raul Borges. "We know that the Castro brothers' totalitarian state feels a very deep hatred towards him."

That Borges ended his hunger strike is a good thing. After all, it's not like the regime would be likely to go out of his way to save his life.

But the intervention of Ortega, a man whose history with political prisoners shows him to be more an emissary for the Castros than a champion for freedom, does not inspire confidence that the Borges case will be resolved in the prisoner's best interest.

Comments

Borges' father said his son ended his protest because Ortega promised to negotiate with the dictator Raul Castro a settlement of Borges' case -- perhaps to coincide with Pope Benedict XVI's visit to Cuba later this month.

Borges, a former Cuban counter-intelligence officer and political prisoner for 14 years, had been demanding his release.

"We are very happy that Ernesto has left an extremely difficult situation, which came with a serious danger of death," said Raul Borges. "We know that the Castro brothers' totalitarian state feels a very deep hatred towards him."

That Borges ended his hunger strike is a good thing. After all, it's not like the regime would be likely to go out of his way to save his life.

But the intervention of Ortega, a man whose history with political prisoners shows him to be more an emissary for the Castros than a champion for freedom, does not inspire confidence that the Borges case will be resolved in the prisoner's best interest.